The disclosed invention relates generally to electronic equipment rack systems, and more particularly to a rack mount system that is self-aligning when installed.
An electronic equipment rack system is an equipment supporting structure that includes four vertically oriented support columns, each having an apertured column flange. The support columns are fixedly located relative to each other so as to be at the corners of a rectangle, whereby two support columns are at a front of the rack system while two support columns are at a rear of the rack system. Thus, each of left and right sides of the rack system includes a front support column and a rear support column.
A left side rack mount assembly and a right side rack mount assembly are mounted horizontally opposite and parallel to each other on the left and right sides of the rack system to support a piece of electronic equipment to be installed in the rack system. Such left and right rack mount assemblies extend back to front, and include respective support panels or shelves for supporting an enclosure or chassis of the electronic equipment being supported in the rack system. The rack mount assemblies can comprise rack slide assemblies whereby the electronic equipment is slidably supported in the rack system so that the electronic equipment can be slid forwardly for access.
Typically, the rack mount assemblies are attached to the column flanges by rack nuts and bolts. For example, rack nuts are installed adjacent selected apertures in the column flanges, and bolts are passed through apertures in mounting flanges of the rack mount assemblies and threaded into the rack nuts.
A consideration with conventional installation of rack mount assemblies is difficulty of installation. If only one person is performing the installation, that person supports the rack mount assembly with one hand while installing bolts with the other hand. If two persons are performing the installation, one person supports the rack mount assembly while the other person installs bolts. Either way is awkward.
A further consideration with conventional rack mount assemblies is misalignment of the rack mount assemblies since the mounting bolts are smaller than the rack apertures. In other words, the mounting bolts do not align the apertures in the rack mount assembly flanges with the apertures in the column flanges. Vertical misalignment of the rack mount assemblies could cause interference between vertically adjacent computer equipment enclosures.
There is accordingly a need for a rack mount assembly that is easily and reliably aligned with rack apertures of a rack system, and is easily installed.
The disclosed invention is directed to a rack mount assembly that includes an elongated rack mount adapter having mounting flanges disposed at each end thereof. Each mounting flange includes an alignment protrusion that is configured to fit in a corresponding aperture in a column flange of a rack system. The elongated rack mount adapter comprises, for example, a slide mechanism or a rack rail.